Criminal trials start with two presumptions: the presumption of innocence and the
presumption of
a. sanity
b. Fairness
c. reasonable doubt
d. justice
Around ninety percent of felony convictions result from:
a. a plea bargain
b. a trial by jury
c. a bench trial
d. a preliminary hearing
What type of evidence is used to infer the existence of some fact in a dispute?
a. Circumstantial
b. Demonstrative
c. Direct
d. Testimonial
What is one of the major factors influencing bargaining and discretion?
a. lack of cooperation between members of the courtroom work group
b. the presumption of factual guilt
c. difficulties with defendants
d. the presumption of innocence
CASE 12.1
Some people within the court system are concerned that plea bargaining reduces the
courthouse to a place where guilt or innocence is negotiated like prices in a flea market.
Primarily, though, opposition to plea bargaining reflects different ideological
preferences. What is particularly interesting is that civil libertarians as well as
spokespersons for law and order see plea bargaining as a danger, but often for different
reasons.
Advocates of abolishing plea bargaining ignore what reality of criminal courts?
a. in most cases, the participants do not substantially disagree over the facts.
b. in most cases, the defendants do not want a trial.
c. in most cases, the prosecutors are difficult to work with.
d. in most cases, the judges are difficult to work with.
Advocates of the due process model of criminal justice see the death penalty as
a. unfairly administered
b. a deterrent
c. appropriate
d. none of these answers is correct
Arrest warrants may be issued by
a. chiefs of police.
b. prosecutors
c. judges.
d. defense attorneys.
The right to self-representation is also referred to by the Latin term
a. pro se
b. mala in se
c. pro bono
d. mens rea
CASE 14.3
In Trop v. Dulles (1958), the Supreme Court explained that the scope of the Cruel and
Unusual Punishments Clause of the Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is not
static, but rather should be interpreted on the basis of “evolving standards of decency in
a maturing society” (p. 101). Since that time, the Court has been repeatedly called upon
to determine if particular capital punishment laws or their application in particular cases
are consistent with the Eighth Amendment as viewed from the perspective evolving
standards of decency in a maturing society.
In what landmark decision did the Court apply this standard and invalidate all 37
then-existing state death penalty statutes?
a. Furman v. Georgia (1972)
b. Coker v. Georgia (1977)
c. Gregg v. Georgia (1976)
d. McClesky v. Kemp (1987)
The method by which defense attorneys seek to reach the best possible solution for their
clients is directly related to their relationships with other members of
a. the prosecutor’s office.
b. the police department.
c. their law office.
d. the courtroom work group.
Which of the following is not a term used to refer to chief prosecutors?
a. district attorney
b. county attorney
c. prosecuting attorney
d. attorney general
CASE 12.1
Some people within the court system are concerned that plea bargaining reduces the
courthouse to a place where guilt or innocence is negotiated like prices in a flea market.
Primarily, though, opposition to plea bargaining reflects different ideological
preferences. What is particularly interesting is that civil libertarians as well as
spokespersons for law and order see plea bargaining as a danger, but often for different
reasons.
What do due process adherents advocate regarding plea bargaining?
a. abolishing bargaining and increasing the number of trials.
b. abolishing bargaining.
c. increasing the number of trials.
d. none of these answers is correct.
CASE 2.2
Joe Smith suffers from paranoid schizophrenia. He has been under a doctor’s care for
ten years, but often stops taking his medication because he thinks he’s cured. While off
his medication, Joe steals a car to “escape from a CIA hit man,” accidentally running
over and seriously injuring a pedestrian in the process. Joe is arrested and charged with
several felonies. His public defender believes he is not guilty by reason of insanity.
Which of the following is true regarding the use of the insanity defense in this case?
a. In addition to the burden of proving the elements of the offense, the prosecution bears
the additional burden of proving the defendant is not insane.
b. With increasing public awareness regarding mental illnesses, the insanity defense has
become more commonly presented and is often successful.
c. The defense bears the burden of proving the defendant’s insanity, often an expensive
proposition.
d. If acquitted, Joe will likely spend less time in a mental facility than in jail or prison.
Which of the following is not one of the four types of charging documents?
a. arrest warrant
b. Complaint
c. Indictment
d. writ of certiorari
Supporters of the exclusionary rule argue that the rule is the only effective deterrent
against which of the following?
a. judicial misconduct
b. prosecutor misconduct
c. courtroom misconduct
d. police misconduct
What two Supreme Court Rulings led to the bifurcated process for death penalty
sentencing?
a. Furman v. Georgia and Gregg v. Georgia
b. Roper v. Simmons (2005) and Atkins v. Virginia (2002)
c. Gregg v. Georgia (1976) and Atkins v. Virginia (2002)
d. Atkins v. Virginia (2002)and Roper v. Simmons (2005)
The two primary functions of appeals include error correction and
a. policy formulation
b. sentence restructuring
c. legal maneuvering
d. correctional management
What happened to three Iowa Supreme Court justices who rule that a state law banning
same-sex marriage violated the state constitution?
a. they were impeached
b. they were found guilty of ethical violations
c. they were removed from office
d. Nothing
The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review’s only function is to:
a. hear appeals regarding constitutional violations of individual privacy rights.
b. review warrant applications related to national security investigations.
c. act as arbitrator between intelligence officials and foreign governments.
d. review denials by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of applications for
electronic
surveillance warrants.
After the American Revolution, the functions of state courts
a. changed
b. stabilized
c. stagnated
d. was primary to international security
Evidence appears to suggest that the exclusionary rule has what effect on the criminal
court system?
a. a marginal effect
b. no effect
c. a significant effect
d. a small but significant effect
What issue related to the right to counsel did Padilla v. Kentucky involve?
a. ineffective assistance of counsel
b. plea bargains
c. mental illness
d. self-representation
The terminology in juvenile court reflects what?
a. that it is based on civil law
b. that it is based on common law
c. that it is based on civil law
d. that it is based on family law
What is the name of rules and regulations adopted by administrative agencies that have
the force of law?
a. statutory regulations
b. constitutional regulations
c. administrative regulations
d. due process regulations
The Prison Litigation Reform Act resulted in all of the following, except:
a. requiring inmates to pay certain fees from which they had previously been exempt.
b. requiring inmates to exhaust all administrative remedies before filing.
c. no longer allowing inmates to proceed pro se in civil rights actions.
d. barring subsequent cases if previous cases had been dismissed as frivolous.
Approximately how many delinquency cases are heard in juvenile court each year?
a. 100,000
b. 385,000
c. 2 million
d. 2.2 million
What do senators influence through senatorial courtesy?
a. state judicial selections
b. Supreme Court Justice selections
c. State judicial conduct commission
d. federal judicial selections
CASE 10.2
The United States experienced a dramatic increase in crime at the beginning of the
1960s. For almost two decades, the number of crimes known to the police increased
much faster than the growth in population. The crime rate plateaued in the beginning of
the 1980s and has decreased considerably since the early 1990s. Despite these
decreases, the public continues to perceive that crime is on the increase. These fears are
reinforced by extensive media coverage, particularly of violent crime.
Of the following, which is one of the official measures of crime in the United States?
a. the UCR.
b. the DEA.
c. the NCVS.
d. the NIBRDS.
CASE 12.2
Guilty pleas are the bread and butter of the American criminal courts. Between 85 and
95 percent of all state and federal felony convictions are obtained by a defendant
entering a negotiated plea of guilt (Covey 2008; Hashimoto 2008). Plea bargaining can
best be defined as the process through which a defendant pleads guilty to a criminal
charge with the expectation of receiving some consideration from the state.
What are the three most common types of plea bargains?
a. charge bargaining, count bargaining, and sentence bargaining.
b. charge bargaining, limit bargaining, and sentence bargaining
c. limit bargaining, count bargaining, and sentence bargaining
d. charge bargaining, count bargaining, and limit bargaining
CASE 10.1
A careful reading of the Eighth Amendment reveals that the Constitution does not
specifically provide that all citizens have a right to bail. Rather, if bail is granted, it
must not be “excessive,” defined by the Supreme Court in Stack v. Boyle (1951), as an
amount higher than reasonably calculated to ensure the defendants presence at trial. A
right to bail, however, was recognized in common law and in statutes as early as 1789
for all those accused of committing noncapital crimes. In 1966, Congress enacted the
Bail Reform Act, thereby creating a statutory presumption favoring pretrial release of
federal arrestees.
How many forms of bail are available to a defendant?
a. two.
b. three.
c. four.
d. five.
According to the _____ Trial Act of 1974 (amended in 1979), certain time periods, such
as those associated with hearings or pretrial motions and the mental competency of the
defendant, are considered excludable time.
In _____ prosecution, a prosecutor is assigned a case from intake to appeal.
_____ is best defined as the lawful ability of an agent of government to exercise choice
in making a decision.
In most states with the death penalty, if the judge imposes the death penalty, then the
case is automatically appealed to the state’s highest court, thus bypassing the
intermediate courts of appeals.
What is the process for summoning jurors? What constitutional limitations have been
established for this process?
Discuss the current status of the Sixth Amendment right to a jury trial. In your answer,
discuss the circumstances under which the Sixth Amendment right to a jury trial applies
to offenders, whether unanimous verdicts are required, and jury size.
Search warrants must be executed in a _____ manner to prevent the information that
established probable cause from going stale.
Because of evidence of racial discrimination, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down
Georgia’s capital punishment statute in McCleskey v. Kemp.
Plea bargaining predates any of the “modern” problems of the courthouse.
The most common type of postconviction relief is mandamus.
The age at which a child becomes an adult is called the upper age of _____.
The features of various defense systems for indigent representation are nearly identical
and uniform across jurisdictions.
The Americans with Disabilities Act applies to the ways in which police officers and
correctional officials interact with people with disabilities.
In status offenses, the child is charged with violation of a criminal law that is not based
on age.
The criminal control model of criminal justice believes the death penalty model should
be abolished
Identify and explain the various political styles of prosecutors within the courtroom
work group.
Summarize the two U.S. Supreme Court rulings that led to the bifurcated process for
death penalty sentence.